Better than Silence
by WildDandelion
Summary: When Peeta finally has an apartment all to himself, it's not long before a strange blonde man disrupts the peace. But he isn't giving up his solitude that easily. Modern Day AU. Peeta/Cato.


**I'm back with just a quick story I came up with a few days ago. **

**Sublease: ****a lease by a tenant or lessee of part or all of leased premises to another person but with the original tenant retaining some right or interest under the original lease. **

**Song: Llorando se Fue- Los Kjarkas**

**Read & Review please!**

* * *

When Peeta was younger, he was always surrounded by people.

His parents didn't make much money from the small bakery they ran so they lived in an apartment above the family business. He had to share a room with his two older brothers and never got an inch of privacy the entire eighteen years he lived at home.

When he went to college, he hoped that maybe he could finally have some space to his own. He soon realized just how terrible it was living with another person that you didn't know. At least with his brothers, he had a family connection to them. Dorm life was an absolute nightmare.

After college, Peeta and his best friend Katniss moved into a small, off campus apartment. Katniss was completing her masters degree in marine biology while Peeta had found a great job working as a therapist in Panem.

For the first time ever in his life, Peeta had a room all to himself. It wasn't much, and the rent was definitely too expensive for the small about of space he had. But it was _his._ That's what made it special.

Of course he still had to share an apartment with Katniss, but he didn't mind. Most of the time, she was either at school or at work. When they did share the space at the same time, he always knew that he had his room to escape to when he wanted some alone time.

It wasn't perfect, but it worked.

However, when Katniss left the states to do a ten month long research project in Tanzania, it was perfect.

* * *

Katniss stuffed the last bit of furniture into the storage unit and wipes the sweat off her brow. "Well, that's the last of it. Thanks for helping me Peeta."

"Of course, anything I can do before my best friend leaves." He says earnestly.

Katniss pouts. "Why is everyone acting like I'm leaving and never coming back? It's only ten months."

"Ten months is a long time Katniss," Peeta points out.

She sighs. "You're right. I guess I better get going so Gale can take me to the airport." She looks at him, concerned. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Peeta rolls his eyes at her. "I'm 23 years old Katniss. I think I can handle myself perfectly fine." He enveloped her in a large hug. "Be safe and have fun."

She kisses his cheek. "You too. And don't forget to video chat me okay? I won't be able to FaceTime you but we can still see each other with that app I showed you."

Peeta nods. "Yes ma'am." He hugs her one more time. "Now scram, go spend your last few hours in the states dry humping your boyfriend."

Katniss wacks his arm and laughs, bidding him one more goodbye before hopping into her car.

* * *

Peeta loved Katniss. She was his best friend in the world. But shortly after she leaves, he realizes that there is one thing that he just may love more than her.

Complete silence.

For the first time in his life, Peeta had a whole place to himself. Technically, Katniss was still legally bound to the apartment and she was using her research funds to help pay for the rent each month, but still. She wasn't here.

And that means he could do whatever the hell he wanted to do.

For the next two months, Peeta did everything he wished he could have done if he had had the privacy.

He painted so much that he began to store the canvasses in Katniss' bare room. He played the music that he wanted to play loudly throughout the apartment. He mediated each day in the living room, without having to worry about Katniss barging in on him. He drunk straight from the orange juice container, because hell, who cared? It was just him.

The only other presence that he needed in his life was his blue pitbull Lady. She never barked anyway. It was like he was living in paradise. No one was around to fuss at him or complain about their boyfriend's inattentiveness and the only dirty dishes in the sink was his.

For the first time in his life, Peeta finally felt like an adult.

Until the first day of November. Katniss had been gone for two long months and Peeta had found comfort in his quiet routine.

Then he came.

* * *

Peeta hadn't had a Saturday off in weeks. He always tried his best to accommodate his availability to his clients schedules, but that usually left him with little time to himself. He decided to take Lady to the dog park so she could release some of the pent up energy the young pitbull had. He usually tried to spend some time after work playing with her, but these past few weeks had been so hectic with cliente coming into his office more than usual, that he hadn't had the energy to play.

Lady loved it. She was almost too playful for her own good and had worn herself out in less than an hour. As she played, Peeta found himself watching a good-looking couple on the bench across from him. An abnormally handsome bronze-haired man and his pretty, raven haired girlfriend seemed so engulfed in each other that they didn't even see him watching them curiously.

Peeta had never tried to give romance much thought. It seemed like a waste of time. Besides, he was enjoying his freedom and independence. Why would he give up his peaceful solitude for another person?

But he had to admit, it did look nice.

Lady plopped down next to him and panted hard so hard, little droplets of spit flew off her tongue. He smiled down at her. "It looks like someone is ready to go home." She gives a weak wag of her tail in response.

Who needed romance when he had everything he needed to survive and Lady?

He takes her home, ready to spend the rest of his day lying on his couch with Lady, a bottle of wine and a terrible Netflix show. But something was off.

Lady immediately seemed on edge when they walked up the stairs to his apartment. She paced back and forth and sniffed the door cautiously. Peeta paused, trusting her instincts over his own and pressed his ear up to the door. He heard several men speaking and the sound of furniture moving around.

He almost opened the door to see who the hell was in _his_ apartment when he snatched his hand away from the doorknob. If it were robbers, he would be completely defenseless. He looked down at Lady, who was stiff as a board and listening closely herself. Well, maybe not completely defenseless. But he'd rather not put him or his dog in any unnecessary danger.

He's just about to move away and call for help when the door opens and a tall blond man with striking green eyes and a friendly smile greets him. He wasn't bad looking and he an obvious charm to him, but none of that mattered. Not when he was opening the front door to _Peeta's _apartment.

"Can I help you?" The man asks, that same warm smile on his face.

Peeta recoiled at the question. What the hell was this guy's deal? He peeks inside the apartment and sees several movers and boxes on the floor. "You could start by telling me why in the world you are in _my _apartment," Peeta says, pushing past him and inspecting the once neat living room now cluttered with boxes.

Lady sniffs one of the boxes curiously. "You must be Peeta Mellark," the man says, holding his hand out to him. Peeta ignores the handshake and continues to look around his apartment. "My name's Cato and by the look on your face I'm guessing that no one told you I was moving in."

Peeta turns and looks at him, his lips curled in distaste. "I don't even know you." It must be a mistake. It had to be. "Look, you seem like a nice guy Cato, but I think you have the wrong apartment. My best friend Katniss was living here and she left for a ten month long research project in Africa. But her name is still on the lease until the rest of the year." He was getting dizzy from seeing so many people fluttering around in his apartment. "So I guess what I'm saying is, that you need to get the fuck out. Like, right now."

Cato only laughs, not seeming offended in the slightest by his words. He clasps a hand on Peeta's shoulder. "You should probably talk to Haymitch." He looks down at Lady. "Is this your dog?"

Peeta brushes his hand off of his shoulder and glowers at him. "Yes," he says through clenched teeth.

"I'm surprised they allow pitbulls here." Cato muses.

Peeta narrows his eyes at him. Lady wouldn't hurt a fly. But right now, he wouldn't object to having her tear Cato to bits. He takes grabs her leash and puts her in his room. "I'm going to Haymitch to get this all sorted out." He says to Cato.

He turns around right before he yanked open the front door and addresses Cato once more. "Don't move anything else in." He pauses, before adding, "And don't touch any of my shit." He narrows his eyes in a way that he hopes is threatening.

Cato gives him a cocky smile and nods his head in understanding. "You've got it beautiful."

Peeta crinkles his nose and slams the door behind him.

* * *

"Haymitch you bastard!" The drunk opens his eyes only the tiniest bit before shutting them closed when he sees Peeta stalking towards him.

"Go away boy. Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" Peeta wrinkles his nose, the foul smell of liquor and several days worth of body odor seeping from Haymitch's body. Peeta shakes him several times to get his attention, most of which are met with silence or a middle finger. He yanked open the supply closet and pulls out an empty black mop bucket. This will do.

He fills the bucket with water from a nearby water foundation and unceremoniously dumped the water onto Haymitch's head. The landlord sputters and strings together colorful sentences at Peeta's behalf. Peeta just watches, disgusted at the floundering man.

"What the hell?" Haymitch sputters out, angrily wiping the water from his eyes.

"Are you done?"

Haymitch grits his teeth and takes off his shirt, wringing the water out of the fabric. Peeta wrinkles his nose again at the sight of Haymitch's bare chest. This day couldn't get any worse. "Whatever it is it better be good Mellark."

"You played me," Peeta snarls, pointing his finger directly into Haymitch's dripping face. "My apartment is being invaded by someone else because you didn't tell me half of my place was being rented out!"

Haymitch rubs the bridge of his nose tiredly. "That's not my fault kid. Take it up with that Catnip girl."

Peeta scowls. "Kat-_niss._" He corrects. The man just shrugs as if it couldn't matter less. "And what does she have to do with this?"

He raises a dripping brow at him. "I'm guessing you don't know what subleasing is then."

Peeta's dark blond eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What the hell is that?" He demands.

Haymitch opens up the mini refrigerator under his desk that stocked all of his alcohol. He pops open a bottle of what smells to be whiskey and takes a healthy gulp before observing him with narrowed eyes. "Aren't you like a therapist or something? I would think you would be a little bit more sensitive and have better communication skills or whatever crap it is you preach to your clients."

Peeta snatches the bottle from his hands right before it touches his lips. "I'm serious Haymitch. There is a complete stranger in my apartment who claims that he lives there now."

Haymitch rolls his eyes and holds out his hand. The two stare each other down before Peeta finally gives in and puts the bottle of whiskey in his grasp. "Thank you," Haymitch says curtly. "It's simple. When Kat-_niss _left she still had nearly a year left of her rent that needed to be covered. So instead of her paying for something that she wasn't going to use, she just rented it out for someone else to have until her name will be off the lease. And, by the way, in Panem, she isn't legally obligated to tell you or me that she was doing that either. So before you start bitching at me, take it up with your former roommate first."

No, no, no. This can't be happening. He had _finally _gotten a space for himself and in less than two months it was ripped out from under him.

"But-but…that's not fair!"

Haymitch groans. "Nothing in life is fair kid. You just gotta suck it up and move on."

Peeta felt like he wanted to bash his head in. This was ridiculous. Why didn't Katniss bother to _tell _him what she was planning on doing? At least then he'd have time to mentally prepare. But no, she's halfway across the world doing groundbreaking research and he's stuck here with a strange blond man in his living room and a functional alcoholic as his landlord.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but would your new roommate happen to be a huge blond guy?" Haymitch asks. He nods dejectedly. "Then I don't see what the issue is. You like guys right? Maybe this is just a blessing in disguise."

The old drunk breaks out into a fit of laughter, clutching his stomach like he was going to vomit.

Peeta takes the whiskey out of Haymitch's hand again and holds the bottle to his chest. "This is mine now." He says through gritted teeth, ignoring the hateful curses thrown his way by his landlord. If he was going to suck it up and move on like Haymitch suggested, then it wouldn't hurt to have a bottle of liquor to get him through it.

* * *

"Oh Peeta isn't it just beautiful?" Katniss exclaims as she shows him a blurry view of the beach on the coast of Tanzania. From what he could decipher from the grainy video it was pretty beautiful. "And the people here are amazing, I don't I ever want to leave."

He lets her go on and on about the amazing country that Tanzania was, waiting for the appropriate moment to ask her about the strange man that was living in his apartment. It had been two days since his meeting with Haymitch and today was the only spare day Katniss had to speak with him. He had been itching to ask her about Cato since he arrived but he knew she was on a strict schedule.

"Professor Beetee says that he'll help me learn Swahili so I can better immerse myself in the culture. Isn't that amazing?" Peeta nods and gives her a tight smile.

Katniss' face comes back into view and she cocks her to the side and purses her lips. "Peeta what's wrong? You seem upset about something."

He takes a deep breath, reminding himself to rein in his annoyance with her before it showed in his tone. The last thing he wanted to do was get into an argument with his best friend who was halfway across the world.

"Well, there is one thing…" He starts.

"Spill."

"Katniss, do you know why there is a man named Cato living in our apartment? Haymitch said you subleased it, but there has to be a mistake. I thought you were just going to use your research funds to pay for the rest of the rent?"

Katniss covers her mouth with her hand and her eyes grow wide. "Oh my God, I forgot to tell you." She winces and Peeta feels his heart is sinking at her answer. So it was true.

"Katniss! Why didn't you tell me? I came home and a strange man is moving his things into my apartment and claiming that he lives here now." Peeta runs his hands through his curly locks.

His best friend scratches the back of her neck awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess that would be pretty weird to come home to…" As smart as she was, sometimes Katniss could lack common sense. And basic communication skills. "But at least one of us knows him right?" She says, trying to lighten the mood. It doesn't work.

"For all I know, the guy could be a freaking serial killer!"

Katniss rolls her eyes. "Oh don't be so dramatic Peeta. Look, I know Cato alright and he's a good guy. He was looking for an apartment and I offered it to him a few days before I left. He was in my biology class freshman year in college and he's always been nice to me. Hell, if it weren't for him, I probably won't be doing what I'm doing now. Half of the time I was too tired or too hungover to pay attention in class. God, I know Professor Coin hated me…"

"_Katniss,_" Peeta groans, redirecting her focus back to the topic at hand. "I'm serious. You could have at least told me that you were doing this."

She sighs, "You're right. I'm sorry, I should have told you. It was just everything was so hectic with this trip and getting everything together at the last minute. And then there's Gale…"

Peeta raises his eyebrows in curiosity, his previous irritation with her fading. "What about Gale?"

She gives him a small, half smile and bites on her bottom lip coyly. "Before I left, he asked me to marry him."

"And what did you say?" Peeta inquired excitedly.

She cringes. "I told him I'll think about it."

Peeta shakes his head disapprovingly. "Katniss…"

"I know I know. I wanted to say yes so badly." She runs her hand through her dark locks and sighs again. "But think I right now, I should just focus on my career, you know? And besides, this isn't the first time he's asked me to marry him and it certainly won't be the last."

"Well, congratulations anyway I guess. At least one of us is succeeding in their love life." Peeta says, trying his best to keep his tone as lighthearted as possible.

"You could too if you stopped shooting down every offer you get. Just because I forgot to tell you about Cato doesn't mean I didn't have you in mind when I picked him." She winks at him melodramatically and he frowns, confused by what she means until it dawns on him.

"Oh gosh, come on Katniss, I'm not going out with Cato! He's probably the last person I want to even see right now." He blanches in disgust and Katniss scowls at him.

"Why not?" She challenges, her grey eyes piercing even over the phone. "He's smart, he's funny, and don't lie and say that he's not good looking." Peeta remained silent. He had to admit that Cato was pretty easy on the eyes. But he wasn't so sure about the first two traits. "And he's totally into you!"

Katniss covers her mouth the second the words leave her lips and his eyes widen in mortification. "What? No he's not!" Peeta protests. Cato barely even knew him.

"Um, well you know how I said I knew him since freshman year of college?" He nods slowly. "Well, I _may_ have shown him a few pictures of you during our study sessions."

Peeta's jaw was on the floor at her confession. "No you didn't…"

Katniss cringes. "And I also _may_ have told him that one day I'll repay the favor for helping me pass biology by hooking you two up one day."

"_Katniss!_" He was going to kill her. He was going to catch the next flight to Tanzania and strangle her.

She gives him a woeful smile before looking behind her. "Oh, what was that Professor Beetee? You need me right away?" She turns back to Peeta with a regretful expression on her face. "Sorry, but I have research to do."

"You better not-"

She gives him an air kiss. "Love you!" Before he could call out to her again she's disconnected from the call. He slides back into his car seat and groans loudly into the air. Great. Now the stranger in his apartment supposedly had a crush on him that he's been harboring for what, at least four years now? He groans again. These next ten months were going to be hell on earth if what she was saying was true.

He's contemplating staying at his brother's for the night to sort out his mind when he hears a dog barking loudly in the apartment above him. Not just any dog. His dog.

Peeta jumps out of his car and races up the flight of stairs. Lady _never_ barks. Whatever was happening must be bad for her to be barking so viciously. When he opens the door to his apartment, Lady is glowering at Cato, her teeth bared menacingly.

"What the hell is going on?" Peeta asks. Cato turns his head slowly, keeping one eye on his growling dog.

"Your dog cornered me the second I walked into the apartment. Could you maybe, oh I don't know, call it off perhaps?" Lady growls again, her hackles raising when Cato speaks.

Peeta sighs and the earlier tension in his shoulders drops. "Lady, come." The dog immediately walks over to him and sits obediently at his feet.

Cato relaxes, still keeping a wary gaze on the dog that seems content at her owner's feet. "Crazy mutt." He mutters under his breath. Peeta just rolls his eyes sourly at him and goes to the kitchen to grab the biggest bottle of wine he could find. Today had been a long day and all he wanted to do was just relax. "But thank you," Cato says, "I didn't feel like being a chew toy today."

"She doesn't bite. She just isn't used to strangers in her home. Neither am I." He gives Cato a pointed look. The taller man ignores him and leaned over the counter table with a sly smile on his lips.

"She'll get used to me. So will you in due time. Although, you should probably know that I'm allergic to dogs."

Peeta shrugs. "Sucks for you then. Lady isn't going anywhere. But you are more than welcome to leave." He downs a cup of wine, not caring to savor it like he would usually do. At this point, he should just drink some of the whiskey he stole from Haymitch. Whatever would get him drunk fast enough was all he needed.

"I think I'll just settle with sneezing all the time. It's worth it if I get to see you every day."

Ugh, could this guy get any worse? Peeta replaces the wine bottle with the whiskey bottle and moves to sit on the couch. Annoyingly enough Cato follows him, but he thankfully takes the hint and doesn't sit too close to him.

"Look, I know this situation may not be ideal-"

"It's not." Peeta cuts in.

Cato ignores him. "But, I think we could learn to get along if you give me the chance. I think we can both agree that we didn't necessarily start off on the right foot." He holds out his hand to him. Peeta looks at him questioningly. "It's common courtesy to shake someone's hand when you introduce yourself." Cato whispers as if it was secret. Peeta scowls at him but took his hand if it meant getting over this.

"Cato Hadley, your new, but soon to be favorite roommate." He smiles brightly at him and winks.

"You sure are full of yourself," Peeta says bluntly. He never did care for overly cocky people. Cato seemed like his ego was the size of Mount Everest. What was Katniss thinking when she choose him?

Cato shrugs, the insult sliding off of him like butter. "You have to be when you're a car salesman." Peeta internally groans. So _that's_ why he was so annoying. And so damn persistent.

Lady puts her head in his lap and whimpers. She must be irritated that Cato was hogging all of the attention that he usually gave to her. "Sounds… _interesting_." God, he was bad at this. He'd rather stick his head in an oven than to continue speaking to him.

"What about you? What do you do?" Cato inquires.

He moves closer to him but stops when Lady growls softly as a warning. Peeta pets her head and tries to conceal his smile at his dog's natural protectiveness. "I'm a therapist."

Cato's eyebrows furrow and he side eyes him suspiciously. "A therapist? No offense but you seem a little…"

"Sullen?"

"I was going to say pessimistic." Cato counters, offering him another bright smile. "But sullen works too."

"Well, it may have something to do with the fact that once again, there is a complete stranger in my apartment." Peeta retorts. So what if he was a therapist? No one is happy all of the time. That was just unrealistic. Plus, he likes to think of himself as a generally happy person. Sometimes. "I'm sure you would be the same if the roles were reversed."

Cato snorts as if that couldn't be further from the truth. "Hell no. Not if the person was as pretty as you."

Peeta has half a mind to sic Lady on him but he relents. He'll have to use that for another time. "Look, I don't know what Katniss told you, but I'm not looking for a relationship. So if this is going to work out, you'll have to stop with all the flirting." He glowers at him.

"So far everything that she told me was pretty much true," Cato says. "You have a pitbull that acts like your guardian angel, you can down a bottle of liquor faster than anyone I've ever seen," Peeta looks at the bottle on the coffee table in front of him. Damn, he did drink that pretty fast… "You keep your apartment unfathomably clean, you have an attitude that can rival the drunk at the front desk," Peeta scowls. If anything he was _way_ better than Haymitch. "And that you'll be completely resistant to my charms."

Damn right he was.

Cato leans forward and Peeta simultaneously leans away from him. "But what she didn't tell me was you're even prettier up close."

Cato should be lucky that he was fairly good looking or else Peeta would have Lady tear him to shreds. He knows she was itching to.

Peeta stands up, realizing for the first time how much liquor he had drunk when he sways on his feet. "Look, I should be going to bed soon." His face heats up and he hopes it was just because he was going to vomit instead of because he was blushing at Cato's comment. "And for the record, it would be better for you to not get too attached. Trust me, by the end of the month, you'll be looking for another place to live."

Cato smirks. "Oh really?"

Peeta nods his head, "Really. I'm not a great roommate," he lies. Truth be told, he was a pretty great person to live with. But he was more than willing to make Cato's life a living hell if it meant they he could go back to living by himself.

"That's not what Katniss said." Cato counters. Damn Katniss. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't even be in this predicament. "How about this, in a month if I think you really are the horrible roommate that you say you are and I truly can't stand you, I'll find another place to live. Deal?"

He holds out his hand and Peeta takes it, a small smirk on his face. This was going to be easy. "Deal," he slurs. He was finally going to get his apartment back to himself.

"I have a feeling that you're going to be very bad at this," Cato remarks smugly.

Peeta huffs. He was going to do everything in his power to have his own space again. And he knew exactly how he was going to do it.

"Like I said, try not to get too attached." Peeta says confidently.

* * *

Peeta waited on the couch for Cato to come home, Lady's head lying on his lap as the two waited. Her ears perk up at the sound of the doorknob jingling and she's instantly on her paws. When Cato comes in, he barely has time to brace himself before Lady jumps on him.

"Good job Lady," Peeta laughs. Cato tries to push the pitbull away from his face but she continues to jump on him. "I taught her how to do that so now every time you come in, you'll be smothered by dog kisses." He grins evilly when Lady licks his cheek.

Cato sneezes and groans in disgust at his wet cheek. Peeta calls her back over to him and pets her vigorously at a job well done. "Did you ever think about what would happen if the maintenance guy or that old woman Mags comes over? She's never going to ask for our help with her groceries again if Lady knocks her down."

Peeta's grin fades when the realization dawns on him. "Oh, I guess I didn't think about that."

Cato chuckles. "Of course you didn't." He puts his keys in the glass bowl and shakes his head. "I'm definitely not leaving now. I'd much rather be greeted with kisses than having her growl at me every time I walk into the apartment. So thanks." He winks at him before disappearing into the kitchen.

Shit.

* * *

If there was one thing that Peeta had learned about Cato was, like most men, he had a deep love for sports. Particularly football.

He thought about using a trick out of Katniss' book. Whenever Gale wasn't listening to her or she wanted something, Katniss would hide the remote so that he couldn't watch whatever mindless game that was coming on that night. It always worked like a charm.

But Peeta had a better idea.

By the time Cato came home from work, Peeta knew that he would grab a beer out of the refrigerator and settle down on the couch to watch the game. Peeta didn't have a personal TV in his room since he and Katniss almost always just watched television together. From what he saw, Cato didn't have one either. So his plan would be perfect.

He placed the remote under the stuffed bear in Lady's bed, knowing that because of Cato's allergies and his general fear of the dog that he wouldn't dare touch her bed.

When he hears the doorknob move he presses play on the TV and starts the DVD player. Immediately Cato looks panicked.

"Uh, what are you doing Peeta?"

Peeta smiles at him, the soothing tones of the woman on the DVD beginning to speak in a warm, comforting voice. "What does it look like I'm doing? It's yoga."

After doing her usual routine of jumping on whoever comes through the front door, Lady lies down on the small yoga mat next to him and sighs. Cato furrows his eyebrows in confusion. "Since when did you do yoga? And why does the dog have her own mat?"

Peeta shrugs, ignoring his second question."I'm pretty sure all therapists do yoga. How else can we keep a level head?" That was a complete lie. He hadn't touched his yoga mat since he left college. And Cato was the only reason why he was just now breaking out the DVD that his yoga instructor Paylor had gifted him several years ago.

"Well, you know the game is coming on soon right?" Cato asks, a hint of worry in his eyes.

Peeta cocks his head to the side, feigning ignorance. "That's tonight?"

"It is Sunday." Cato points out. He sets his things down and moves to the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge. "So how long do you think you'll be using the TV?"

Peeta shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh, I don't know. The whole thing should be over within three hours."

Cato chokes on his beer, "_Three_ _hours?!_" He sputters out, and Peeta smiles at him innocently.

"Is that a problem?"

Cato rubs his temples in frustration. So he's finally gotten under his skin. "I mean, I don't know, can you possibly do that another time?" Cato clasps his hands together pleadingly. "I'm begging you Peeta. Tonight's a very important game. The Cowboys are playing the Vikings tonight."

Peeta scrunches his nose up. "The who and the who?" Really, if there was one thing he didn't know, it was the ridiculous names of sports teams.

Cato breathes slowly out of his nose and speaks to him as if he's explaining the sport to a young child. Which to be fair, he very well could have been doing. "The Dallas Cowboys are playing the Minnesota Vikings."

"Why would you care about them?"

"Peeta, I'm from Minnesota!" Cato practically yells. "_That's_ why I care."

Peeta puts a finger up to his lips and shushes him quietly. "It's starting. Look, maybe it's playing a bar somewhere. Or go over to a friend's house and watch it."

"This is insane." Cato mutters.

"Insane enough to make you want to move out?" Peeta asks hopefully.

Cato juts his chin out and stands up straighter. "Nope." He sits down on the couch behind Peeta, just as the woman in the video begins to explain the first position. Peeta follows along, internally grinning at the fact that he finally managed to get Cato to crack. He could almost taste the sweet freedom of having an apartment all to himself again.

"You know," Cato says, "I think this is actually better than a football game." Peeta sits up and looks at him, puzzled by his sudden interest in the yoga video. Cato smirks and takes a sip of the beer in his hand. "Do that one pose, what is it called again? Oh yeah, _downward dog_. I have a pretty nice view back here."

Peeta growls at him, his face reddening in mortification. Cato having a full view of his ass in the air wasn't going to deter him from hogging the TV. Refusing to back down, Peeta ignores him and does the entire three hour session.

By the first hour, Peeta remembered just how hard yoga could be.

By the second hour, his muscles were shaking during each pose, and even Lady looked tired of watching him. Unfortunately, Cato seemed to be enjoying every second of it, even correcting him when he was doing poses incorrectly.

By the third hour, Peeta can barely hold himself upright long enough to stay in position.

He turns off the TV and tosses Cato the remote, aching to soak his sore muscles. "Now _that_ was prime entertainment." Cato teases, licking his lips at his sweaty body hungrily. Peeta doesn't even have the energy to scowl at him and just walks towards his bedroom. "Do you have a second part for that DVD?" Cato calls out to him before bursting out into laughter.

Peeta slams the door shut.

He's annoyed when he finds out that both Cato and the Vikings won yesterday. He hates being on the losing side.

* * *

"Thanks for letting Pollux and Castor stay over for the night," Delly says, setting down the two small crates once they got into his apartment. "I'm just so scared that they're going to get sick if they inhale too much of the paint fumes."

Peeta waves her off. "Don't worry about it, Lady will be happy for the company." Immediately Lady comes bounding over to the two, her tongue lolling to the side of her mouth happily. Delly holds out her hand and cooes at her. His dog immediately rolls over for her.

"I can't believe there are people in this world who actually hate pitbulls. Lady is just the sweetest thing." Delly says, scratching her belly and causing Lady's tail to thump rhythmically on the hardwood.

"I live with a person who hates pitbulls," Peeta says as he releases the two white dogs out of their crates. Okay, maybe that wasn't fair. Cato didn't hate Lady because she was a pitbull. He was just allergic to her.

Delly frowns in confusion. "Katniss doesn't hate Lady."

"Katniss subleased her apartment to him." Peeta points to the man walking out of the other bedroom. Cato's eyes lock on the two small dogs that yap at his feet.

Delly holds out her hand to him politely. "Hello, I'm Delly, Peeta's coworker."

Cato shakes her hand back and kisses it. Delly swoons at the charming act. Peeta looks at Lady rolls his eyes in disgust. "Cato Hadley, Peeta's temporary roommate." Delly looks like she was about to melt like butter from Cato's charm.

"Emphasis on temporary," Peeta mutters under his breath.

"What's going on here?" Cato asks when Castor and Pollux begin to play with Lady. "It's like a puppy play date or something."

"Oh, I just asked Peeta if it was alright if Castor and Pollux stay here for the night while I repaint my kitchen. I didn't want them to be so close to the paint fumes. That isn't a problem is it?" Cato shakes his head but underneath it, Peeta can see a nerve twitching below his eye in irritation. He pokes his tongue out at him behind Delly's back.

"And aren't they just so cute Cato?" Peeta says, picking up Castor- or Pollux?- and depositing him in Cato's arms. Cato looks like he wants to do nothing more than to dump the wiggly dog down on the ground, but to his credit, he toughs it out. In fact, he's toughing it out a little _too_ well.

He frowns. Shouldn't he be having a sneezing fit by now?

"They are pretty cute. Unfortunately, Peeta must not have told you that I'm very allergic to dogs." Cato says to Delly.

"Oh don't worry about it! They're both Bichon Frisés which means that they're hypoallergenic. I also have really bad allergies but I have basically no symptoms with them." Delly explains. Peeta feels like he's just gotten punched in the gut.

Cato grins smugly and buries his face in the puppy's belly. He takes his head out and smiles when he doesn't dissolve into a sneezing fit. "Interesting."

"Yup," Delly turns to Peeta, not noticing the crestfallen expression on her friend's face. "Thanks again Peeta, I'll see you tomorrow." She kisses him on the cheek before kissing before both of her dogs and petting Lady goodbye.

Peeta learned that while Delly's dogs may be adorable and hypoallergenic, they sure weren't potty trained.

* * *

It was seven o'clock in the morning and Cato had yet to wake up. Peeta knew that he usually went into work later than he did so the timing was perfect.

Lady was watching him as he hooks up his wireless speaker and begins playing music. Loudly. She cocks her head curiously.

The bass of the music vibrated throughout the apartment as he continued to get ready for work. If this didn't annoy the hell out of Cato then nothing would. He waits a few minutes before turning it up louder.

And louder.

And even louder.

By now the sound of heavy rap music was vibrating throughout the entire apartment. It would be impossible to escape it.

He smiles devilishly when Cato finally comes out of his room, his brow furrowed. "Why are you up so early?''

Peeta holds his hand up to his ear. "Sorry, I can't hear you." He shrugs his shoulders apologetically.

"Why are you up so early?" Cato shouts above the music. Peeta turns it down just enough that he can speak.

"Sometimes I have early appointments. I always try to work around my clients' work schedules." He holds up a pot of coffee to Cato. "Would you care for some?" He asks sweetly.

Cato frowns. "Nah, I think I'm good." He looks at the speaker blaring music in distaste. "What the hell are you listening to?"

"Rap music," Peeta says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Lady loves it." The dog just yawns and looks away from the two. Cato raises his brow at him. "Ignore her." Peeta says, slightly annoyed that she wasn't playing along.

Cato nods slowly. "Right." He runs his hand through his messy blonde locks and Peeta feels a strange tug in his stomach at the sight. If he was being honest, he wouldn't mind waking up and seeing him in the morning…

God, what was he thinking? He almost slaps himself at the thought. He was supposed to be focused on kicking him out, not thinking about how good he looks first thing in the morning!

"Do you do this often?" Cato asks.

Peeta smirks. "Only when I have an early appointment. It helps me wake up and get ready for the day."

"And how often do you have early appointments?"

Peeta taps his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I have several regular clients that have early work schedules, so I'll say probably five days out of the week."

The look on Cato's face is priceless.

"Is that a problem?" Peeta asks innocently. Finally, he's actually won.

Cato shakes his head. "Nope. Carry on."

He disappears into his room and Peeta grins wildly. One point for him. He goes back to his phone to turn up the music again when he hears music flowing from _Cato's _room. What the hell? This was his victory, not Cato's!

To make matters worse, it seems that Cato had a love for bad country music too. And a voice that could scare away every bird in a ten mile radius. By the time Peeta is ready to leave for work, he swears that his ears are bleeding from the awful combination of country music and Cato's offkey singing voice. Who knew such a terrible voice could come out of a man that handsome?

Before he walks out the door he slips a note under Cato's door with a simple, four lettered message:

_You win this round._

That night he gets a note of his own under the front door. An official noise complaint from a resident that was approved and signed by Haymitch. He will admit, it was worth it when he shows it to Cato and he laughs brightly.

Peeta decides then that he likes Cato's laugh.

* * *

It was Wednesday, Peeta's favorite day of the week. Cato had had an early meeting and he was gone before he was up. The sun was shining and with Cato gone, Peeta finally felt as good as he did when it was just him and Lady living in the space. Even Lady seemed to have noticed a difference in his mood because she was right next to him as he cooked breakfast and sung along to one of his favorite songs.

"_Llorando se fué_

_Y me dejó sólo sin su amor_

_Llorando se fué,"_

He threw Lady a piece of bacon and she took it gratefully, her tail wagging at lightning speed.

"_Y me dejó sólo sin su amor_

_Sólo estará, recordando este amor_

_El tiempo no puede borrar,"_

Peeta turned around to grab some eggs out of the refrigerator and almost dropped the cartoon on the floor when he sees Cato leaning against the wall of the kitchen.

"What the fuck Cato! I thought you had a meeting or something!" Peeta clutches his chest and takes deep breaths to slow down his heart rate.

Cato chuckles and raises his hands in the air defensively. "It got canceled. But please, don't stop on my account. You have a great voice."

Peeta flushes beet red. Of-fucking-course Cato would hear him singing. There goes his perfect day. "Shut up." He murmurs.

"I wouldn't say that if it weren't true,'' Cato says earnestly. "That's a deadly combination. You can sing and speak Spanish? I, for one, am thoroughly impressed."

If his cheeks grew any redder he thinks he may just pass out. "My father is Bolivian." He explains awkwardly. He averts his eyes when Cato lifts his brow.

"That explains the accent I hear when you yell at me," Cato says, amused at Peeta's sudden shyness. "And you yell at me a lot by the way." Peeta scowls. If he yells at him it's because he deserved it. "But this," Cato gestures around, "This is different. It's nice to see you smiling and singing for once instead of trying your hardest to kick me out. Something good happening later today?"

He moves behind Peeta to get to the refrigerator and his hand ever so slightly brushes up against Peeta's backside. His breath catches in his throat and he almost forgets to answer his question. He clears his throat and attempts to recompose himself. "Uh, well yeah actually. Every Wednesday I go down to the high school in the Seam and give out free therapy sessions to any kids that want it."

Cato observes him, his green eyes thoughtful. "Why?"

Peeta shrugs, his blush returning under Cato's stare. "A lot of the kids there are underprivileged and their parents can't afford to take them for therapy sessions. Don't get me wrong I love my clients at my other job, but sometimes it's just nice to give back, you know? When I speak to the older clients at my job I wonder how many of their issues could have been resolved if they had someone to talk to when they were younger."

When he looks up, Cato is staring at him with such a chilling intensity, so unlike the easy-going demeanor he usually had. He bites his lip nervously.

He barely has time to brace himself before Cato cups his head in his hands and kisses him until he's completely breathless.

If he were being honest, Peeta had wondered a few times what it would be like to kiss Cato. What would he taste like? Would he be warm and soft, or hard and masculine?

All he could register while he kissed him was an underlying hunger that wasn't just from his uneaten breakfast. He wanted more of him. He wanted to be consumed by him. When Cato wraps his arm along Peeta's waist, he practically melts into his body. This was so much better than anything he imagined.

And it terrifies him.

Cato breaks the kiss, his lips swollen and the green in his eyes nonexistent. "You're amazing." He breathes. He lets go of Peeta, although he could tell how badly he didn't want to let go of him. "I don't want you to be late to work."

Peeta nods numbly, still in a daze from the kiss. He quickly eats his breakfast and gives whatever he doesn't eat to Lady.

One the way to the Seam, Peeta can't stop touching his lips. If he concentrates hard enough, he can still feel the sensation of Cato's mouth on his.

* * *

The second Peeta walks into the door of the apartment that night, his mouth is watering at the heavy scent of food. Lady jumps on him, still unable to break the habit after all these days. Sometimes she was too smart for her own good. He sighs, figuring that it was his fault anyway. "Hey Lady." He says, giving her a quick pat on the head before moving towards the kitchen.

Peeta sets his bag down, an impressed smile on his lips. "What's all of this?"

Cato gestures to the wide spread of food and grins. "I think you could explain it better than I could."

It was traditional Bolivian dishes. Majadito, Picante de Pollo, buñuelos. He sniffs the air curiously. "Do smell salteñas?"

Cato shrugs. "Maybe."

"I'm impressed," Peeta admits. Even Lady looks like she was about to drool all over the hardwood at the tantalizing scent. He leans over the cooking table to inspect the food. "And it actually looks good. How did you learn to cook all of this?"

Cato puts his hands on his hips in exhaustion. "When I say a lot I mean _a lot_ of YouTube videos. Most of them were in Spanish so that kind of sucked…"

Peeta giggles. "Why did you do all of this Cato?" Why would he go through all this trouble just to make him happy? It wasn't like Peeta had been the most hospitable host.

He cups Peeta's face in his hands and looks into his eyes. "I meant what I said Peeta, you're amazing, and you deserve to be treated like you are." Peeta smiles softly. "Look, I know you value your space and I know that you'd much rather be by yourself than with someone. But I've had a crush on you for over four years now and ever since I moved in, I find a new thing every day to love about you. If you want me to go, I'll leave no questions asked. I'll do anything you want Peeta." Peeta sucks in a breath, his heart pounding in his chest.

"What if I wanted you to kiss me?"

Cato smiles before capturing his mouth with his own. His warm hand caresses his cheek before settling in the small of his back.

He has a feeling that he will never get tired of Cato's kisses.

Peeta pulls away, breathless. He grabs Cato's hand and pulls him to his bedroom. "B-but, the food?" Cato says. Peeta just laughs. _That's _what he was thinking about?

He shakes his head and grabs onto Cato's belt buckle. "The food can wait. I can't." He smirked in amusement when Cato's eyes look like they're going to pop out of his skull. He opens up the door and sits on the end of his bed, smiling softly at the stunned man in front of him.

"Join me."

As if jolted to life Cato moves from the threshold of the room and onto Peeta's bed. In an instant, his hands are roaming every inch of his body.

Cato's lips are traveling down his body when Peeta suddenly stops him, grabbing his face in his hands. "Stay with me. Stay as long as you want. You won."

He's not surprised the next morning when he wakes up to another noise complaint under his door.

This one was definitely worth it.

* * *

_Seven Months Later..._

Lady jumps up onto the bed, her tail hitting Cato in the face. "Get your dog's ass out of my face." He mumbles into Peeta's hair. Lady yips excitedly and Peeta opens his eyes just in time to see Katniss burst through his bedroom door.

"I knew it! Gale owes me twenty bucks!" She whoops triumphantly in the air and Lady yips in excitement with her.

Peeta sits up and rubs the sleep out of his eyes. "What are you talking about Katniss? And when did you get back?"

"Hey Katniss," Cato mumbles, his arms still locked firmly around Peeta's waist and his face still snuggled against his body.

Katniss smiles and waves to him. "Hey Cato," Lady whines and she laughs. "Hey Lady." The dog licks her hand when she reaches out to pet her. "I just got back this morning. And a few months ago, I bet Gale that you two would be all over each other by the time I got back. You two did not disappoint. Now I have a few extra dollars to spend to get my nails done."

Peeta huffs. "You, Katniss Everdeen, are willingly spending money to get your nails done? What happened in Tanzania?"

She holds out her hand to him. "A lot of things actually," she says, beaming when she shows him the beautiful diamond ring on her slim finger. Peeta congratulates her enthusiastically, elated for his best friend.

"And that reminds me actually," Katniss says, "Today I'm going to officially sign my name off the lease, so the apartment is all yours."

"I was thinking about moving out too," Cato says. The color drains from Peeta's face. He had never given much thought about what would happen once Katniss came back. Cato wraps his arm around Peeta's waist and pulls him closer to his body. "Why waste money on a two bedroom apartment when all we needed was one? Wouldn't you agree Peeta?"

He grins brightly. "Absolutely."

Maybe there were things in this world that were better than silence.


End file.
